The Dickinson press., 1887-06-25


3!cGi Ian and Lee ha,l each fixed on June
=; a. n day for attacking the other Nc
q, Han meant to stnrnl Richmond and take it
l,v assault. Ice intended To attack Mcclellan
and raise tin s;c-r of Richmond. But Nc
clell#u r"as tehiml Lee i'll moving, and
thu C0u:"lratns got in ,hcil. attack
first. Then Mcclellan nsn'l his plan of
preparation for a secure retreat to the james,
which WIS now in possession of the Felc.nls
from it, mouth nearly to the Confederate
.aMtal.
lie first battle oi the seven days fighting
vas that Of Mr'!;niicsvillc, juno .6. A
,.i23t s'iimi h had ,a!:en p!a"" Jun" :25
F,r rs "'ri was stationed arpnnd aud to
The ra>t Of 3:oeilansvilc Near here was
Beaver Da;n creek, with l.iiiSon's Mill upon
it. McCall's ptnnsyivanians were stationed
ON Tic rising ground near El}i,on's Mill, com
mandIi- the creek. To the right. left and
rear of Mccall wcrc Gems. Reynolds Martin
,i;tl". Griffin. Meade and S. ymour with their
commands. The troops were ranged half
moon shape on Beaver Dam crock; Mechan-
icsyille hr.s" crossed the Chckaho.niny.
Stonc~all Ja"s,on and his men were to he
in til" rear of M"chauirsviil. on the morning
of the ;.j,h Iia4,n.l,'s Confederate brigade
Wa 10 cIo>- tie Cl.io!SaIloniny up near Rich
ni"HH. move r';,i,iy down the river road and
clear .ta'p!'" Iritae Of it, I':ion guard, and
then strike eastward, join s't"n.wall Jacks
ai.l make ali attack on the Federal rear east
Of ,Lecl!anicsville. Meadow bridge crossed
the Chiri;ahpn!il!y- north Of the one at
Mechal.irsviil"
AS soon Us .Ica'low lrilsc was cleared OF
Feuer;lls. A. Y. Hill was to cross it rapidly.
road to Meclallcsville. Thas movement
would leave tI.c Mrchanicsyille bridge clear.
Longstrect and b. H. Hill Were to cross it.
march hastily on and join tho attackin.
column. Thus MeClellan's army on the north
bank Of the Chickahominv would be involved
front and rear, and could be cut to pieces
But for the first time in his life Stonewal
jackson was late The two Hills and Long
street carried out their part Of the pro
gramme, attacking the Federal front as il
faced south on the Chckahominy. The;r
work was with the Federal left, Jacksons
with the right
A p. Hills advance had driven the Union
pickcts lack to the main line at Ellison's
Mill There was time enough for the Federal:
to form in battle line. Hill and Longstreet
advanced in the teeth of tremendous fire Of
musketry and artillery from the heights
around Eilison's Mill. The firing came from
Gen Seymour, who held the left. The Con
felerates had hoped to turn the Union flank
aud cut the left to pieces. In the midst OF
deadly fire they were hurled back, and the
movement failed, and so the battle of Me
chanicsville ended. 1t had lasted from
o'clock in the afternoon till 0. McCalrs mer
were in the bloolest of the contest. The Con
felerates lost between 5000 and 1900, the
Federals about 400.
Next morning Mcclellan resolved toretrca'
south and take UP a position on the James. He
found for certain that jackson was i'll his vicin
ity with large force, and had only heen d"
tained by some Federal skirmshcrs at I".o
potomy creek, north of Mechanirsvil!c.
Here some military critic, declare Mcclellan
made another mistake The Conlederates lat
left Richmond protected only ly 5000 mer
--Hugcrs and Masruder's divisions-on th'
eth. After the Federal victory at Mechanics